East Lake - Mid Summer Report

Howdy fellow trophy trout hunters! I hope this report finds you well and that you’ve had a good season so far. My wife Carrie and I have an awesome tradition going with our great friends Don and Leza Wicks, this was our 6^th year going to East Lake in the Newberry Caldera together. We usually go July/Aug timeframe and have a blast. It’s amazing to think back at our slow progress over the years catching Browns. At first, we would be stoked to get one Brown! But we kept at it hardcore TTH style and eventually started to catch some fish. Now we’re at the point where we can consistently catch quality Browns (thanks to my TTH bros RD, Hookjaw and Bwild). My buddy Don has always enjoyed fishing, but he’s of the mindset where he doesn’t see much difference between an 18 incher and a 5+ pounder…he just likes being on the water and catching fish…I think this year might have changed that!

The trip started off rough as Hwy 26 was closed for a fire. “Trip Check” wasn’t updated correctly, so we ended up having to turn around before Warm Springs, run all the way back to Hood River and down 197. We got into the lake around 2:30 am…needless to say, we slept in!

Normally I’m pretty intense about fishing for Browns, but this trip I was abnormally relaxed. We slept in every morning, didn’t even fish the evenings and took breaks during the day…what’s up with that! J It was very relaxing, but we still hit it hard for most of the day. The crew was grateful the captain wasn’t too hardcore this time around and commented that I was more pleasant to be around! Haha, guess I need to work on that J

We fished 3.5 days and trolled most of the time. We didn’t use the downriggers, as I’ve come to enjoy fishing without them for the last few years. Surface water temp was around 66 °F and fairly clear, according to my stats this was typical temp for this time of year. We trolled Lymans as we’ve had success with these lures in the past. Normally we troll around 2.8mph with this lure in the summer, but this year we decided to bump it up to 3+ mph based on recent intel from my TTH bros. We started catching fish immediately, all were 18-24” and super fat!!! Glad to see the Browns were in good shape. We didn’t see any reason to change anything, so we kept with the same drill for the first day, changing Lyman patterns occasionally. We only fished a few hours Thursday as we got a late start, we didn’t even fish the evening. I didn’t keep track, but we probably caught around 8 Browns. We were pleased at how the trip started!

I was stoked to get an earlier start Friday. Is there anything prettier than mornings on your favorite Oregon lake? The older I get, the more I try to fully appreciate and enjoy those types of moments, regardless of the fishing. What a blessing to be with your loved ones in such a beautiful place!

We kept with the same exact drill, why not eh! Don decided to change patterns on the Lyman to a new one I’ve only ran a few times with limited success. I teased him and said, okay man, whatever! ;) Boy was I wrong! Around 9:45am, his rod goes off with authority! I asked him what he thought…he says “it’s a good one” in his typical calm demeanor.

We had been catching 18-22 inchers, so it was easy to keep a rod in the water, kicker in gear and release the fish with no problem. I selfishly considered keeping my rod out there, but I quickly came to my senses and cleared my rod…good decision! Once he got the fish in closer, it started to hold DEEP! This was the first fish of the trip that held deep, so we knew it could be at least over 5 lbs. It continued to hold deep as Don slowly worked it closer to the boat. Finally, the beautiful colors emerged from the depths and I yelled...ooh, looks pretty good!!! I thought maybe 6 or 7 lbs, but it was hard to tell. It boiled and started to thrash, but Don did a good job coaxing it close to the boat and I was able to slip the net underneath it. I still thought, maybe 7 or 8 lbs…until I lifted it out of the water! WOAH!!! It’s a BEAST, fricking heavy! Oh man, I couldn’t believe it! We could EASILY tell it was our biggest Hookjaw to date. I was literally dancing in the boat! We gave him a long breather in the water before we hoisted him up for a weight. I was SO hoping he would crack the 10lb mark. I used my certified Boga Grip and weighed him in the net…wait for it…wait for it……….just under 10 lbs!!! Oh man so close, but honestly I wasn’t disappointed at all! Our time will come, I know that. He taped at 28.5” long and 16” girth.

The colors and spotting were absolutely amazing, one of the prettiest I’ve seen. The belly was a deep grapefruit red, so cool! We took our time reviving him and really enjoyed looking him over as he floated in my hands beside the boat. We couldn’t resist showing Mr. Hookjaw to the passing boats and seeing their reaction, nothing but looks of disbelief! He finally came back around and was able to strongly swim into the depths. What an experience!!! High fives and hugs ensued, we did it! The crew knows that I become much more relaxed once we’ve put a good one in the boat, so the rest of the trip was super chill.

We continued with the same drill for the rest of the trip, working depths from 25’-45’, with 35’ +/- being the most productive…this might have more to do with location than depth. We caught another 6+ pound Hookjaw in almost the same exact location as the big gun, good spot!

Sorry, some things have to remain a secret. ;) All fish were caught on kokanee and rainbow #4 Lymans trolled at 3 mph. We found that we didn’t have to be right off the bottom compared to years past. We were catching them with the lures 7’-12’ off the bottom, regardless of water depth. The more we fish, the more I start to think that lure depth isn’t as critical as previously thought…just get it down near the thermocline in the summer and they’ll find it, especially a high action lure like a Lyman that puts out a decent amount of sound wave disturbances the fish can feel.

We didn’t keep track of every fish caught, but we had consistent action and probably caught around 25 Browns, with the 6+ lb and <10 lb being the biggest. Another epic East Lake trip in the books! Special thanks to my wife Carrie for being so dang beautiful! Oh yah, she supports my TTH habit too ;) Thanks to Don and Leza for the best time ever, you two are the best! You still think a 9+ pounder is the same as an 18 incher Donny? Ha!

Until next time my friends, cheers!

Crazy Dan